A Wizard Lost
by PhoenixFire2
Summary: between TWD and AWA-Nita and Kit are back in their regular wizard duties, but problems arise and Nita finds herself lost in the Lone Power's possesion with distant hopes of ever getting out alive...COMPLETE
1. Kidnapped

"You're doing it wrong,"  
  
A crisp, cool breeze weaved its way around the trees of the forest. Kit sat in the dirt, using his finger to doodle large, loopy circles in the powdery ground, and Nita frowned at him from the rock she sat on.  
  
"It's not supposed to look like that," she told him simply. He rolled his eyes, and muttered,  
  
"Would you like to come over here then and do it yourself?" Nita shrugged and sighed to herself. Kit also let out a soft groan. All she did was criticize him! He bent over and continued to work.  
  
"Kit, that's wrong," Nita told him again, getting exasperated with his defiance. He frowned at her, thinking to himself, 'Why doesn't she just come over and help if she doesn't like the way I'm doing it,' he quickly tried to hide it, but it was too late. Nita had heard it. She let out a soft sigh, and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Fine," she muttered, and began to doodle her own designs, but it was Kit's turn to groan.  
  
"That's even worse than mine," he scolded. Nita gave him a reproving look, and went back to sit on her rock, turning her eyes towards the clear blue sky. Kit just kept working, and Nita shook her head.  
  
She looked up at the tops of the leafy trees high above her. The wind carried the trees' voices to her and she listened as they whispered to each other about how annoying it was to have their leaves pushed out of the way so that Kit could draw in the dirt.  
  
"The trees are a bit upset. They want you to stop," Nita informed him.  
  
"Yeah? Well that rock your big fat butt's on isn't too happy, either," Kit instantly regretted his comment as Nita stood up and folded her arms.  
  
"Well, I guess you can do this spell without my big fat butt in your way now," and she strode off in a huff. Kit watched open mouthed, as Nita stomped out of the clearing in the forest. Kit hung his head low. Ever since they had gotten back into their usual routine again, this was how it had been. They were great friends, but all they had done lately was bicker. And Kit couldn't help but think that half of it was his fault. Lately, his big mouth had been getting the better of him, and he knew Nita was going through a hard time now, with her mother just getting out of the hospital and all.  
  
Kit sighed, and finished the spell with a wizard's knot. He read it aloud, and was frozen stiff as they spell began to work. The wind picked up in his ears and his lips could only continue mouthing the words of the speech.  
  
"Da'h istum'a kilso termont'tele kilswitho to' ict." He continued rapidly and his words sped up until he was almost out of breath. He somehow felt like he should have waited for Nita to perform the spell, but was angry with her and hurt at the way she'd been treating him lately. Finally, the spell was over, and Kit looked around at the garbage littering the ground. It vanished, and he smiled, but couldn't help feeling that the smile was not out of accomplishment, since Nita had done most of the work, but at the fact that there was no longer a nagging voice in his ear, 'Kit, you're doing it wrong,' or 'Kit, the trees are mad at you.'  
  
Kit opened his personal claudication and pulled out his long, metal rod of a wand. He did the beam-me-up spell and with a pop, was soon standing outside of his own house, debating on weather he should go inside or apologize to Nita. After a long hesitation, he stepped through the front door, and Poncho leapt on him, licking his drawn face.  
  
Nita found herself in front of her house, frowning slightly from her past argument. Kit and Nita's arguing was becoming more frequent lately, and Nita wished it would stop. She felt as though if it continued, their partnership would totally fall apart, not to mention their friendship, and she mourned at the thought of having to work all by herself.  
  
Dairine looked up from the book she was reading, Parallel Universes Beyond Our Comprehension. Nita strode right past her, but Dairine's gaze followed her until she got to the end of the hallway.  
  
"Weren't you working with Kit?" she stuck her nose in Nita's business yet again.  
  
"Yes, but we're done, so just go back to your book," Nita spat at her. Dairine gave her a look that said someone's-snotty-today, and then she thought, 'I know you guys are in another fight. I'm not stupid; you just did this,' Nita turned up her nose at her.  
  
"Well, whatever's going on between Kit and I, is none of your business," Nita retorted, and dropped herself on her lumpy bed. She laid there, and wondered what was going to happen to Kit and her. That was when her thoughts went wandering into uncovered territory. She thought of where the Lone Power was now. His world had come to pieces, and he was hiding out somewhere unknown. Nita grabbed her manual, and flipped through the pages, hoping for something to jump out at her. Sadly, nothing did.  
  
'Maybe I should go apologize. I was acting dumb,' Kit thought. He was also hoping that their friendship would not come to pieces, but knew that it already had. He wished there was someway to fix it. Sighing, he turned over on his bed, and decided to beam himself up to Nita's house.  
  
There was a loud POP and Kit appeared in Nita's backyard. He rapped loudly on the door, and Mrs. Callahan opened the door. She smiled, and greeted him warmly. Kit looked at her mournfully. He couldn't see the happy woman he used to see in her. All he could see was a dying mother. She gave him that look that said, I-don't-want-to-be-treated-like-that, and Kit apologized. He trudged up the stairs until he came to Nita's room, and he knocked on the closed door. There was no answer. He knocked louder, and Nita opened the door, turning back to her manual, as though absorbed in the book.  
  
"Nita, I'm sorry I was a jerk back there. It's just I-" Kit noticed Nita wasn't paying him any attention. He curiously went up to see what she was so hooked on, and she snapped the book shut.  
  
"What?" she asked him, as though she had simply not heard, rather than not listened.  
  
"I was going to apologize before you got your eyes glued to that page," Kit explained. "What are you reading, anyway?" Nita looked down at the manual, and decided to tell him. She opened to the page, and pointed to it, beginning to explain.  
  
"It's about the Lone One. It says he's not changing anymore, and that he's getting- well, worse. He's supposedly trying to create something worse than death- worse than entropy. And then, look-" she turned the page, and pointed to Kit's name. "It says you're on assignment, but not me. Are you doing something alone?" she asked him. Kit shook his head as he read his name in the book.  
  
"I don't know why it says that. Maybe it got messed up," Kit suggested.  
  
"Kit, don't be so naïve. The manual doesn't get messed up. Not even by powerful dark forces," Nita swallowed. This was confirming what she had been dreading all along.  
  
"So are you trying to tell me that this means we have to work alone now?" Kit asked slowly. Nita shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"I honestly don't know what it's telling us, but I bet that's pretty close," her voice dropped and her heart bottomed out. True, she hadn't been getting along with Kit, and maybe she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with him, but now he would probably go find a better partner. She tried very hard for him not to hear what she was thinking, and figured he hadn't heard from the silence.  
  
"Well, what do we do now?" Kit asked.  
  
"We wait for you to go on assignment. Then you go, and I- I just stay behind," Nita slumped down on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. She didn't want to be left out.  
  
Kit snapped open his claudication quickly and pulled out what looked like a dulled light bulb that had burnt out. He handed it to her.  
  
"It's the glede- the dragon eye, or what's left of it anyway. I kept it. You know, a souvenir. You can have it," Kit stood up. "I should probably go. See ya later," Nita looked at the glede and wondered if Kit had heard what she had thought after all.  
  
"So, what are you doing for your assignment?" Nita asked Kit as they worked on the next spell. Kit shrugged.  
  
"Maybe it was a fluke," Kit tried to convince Nita more than himself. Nita rolled her eyes.  
  
"No, it wasn't. It couldn't have been," Nita argued.  
  
"Yes, it could," Kit retorted.  
  
"Those things don't happen for no reason! You have to go alone weather you like it or not." Nita complained.  
  
"Fine! I'd rather do it alone than with someone who would just nag me the whole time!" Kit let his temper get the better of him.  
  
"Fine! Go do it alone! In fact, why don't you just do everything alone from now on! Forget me!" Nita blew up at him. Kit was taken aback. He didn't want to do everything without Nita. But she was acting like she didn't care.  
  
"Fine," Kit muttered, giving her a long cold stare before he strode away. Nita sighed, and turned to go as well.  
  
Nita opened her manual. She was searching for the section on the Lone Power and his rise, but couldn't find it. 'Maybe it went away,' Nita thought to herself. 'Maybe the Lone One is not powerful anymore.'  
  
"Or maybe," a cold, drawling voice said behind her. "I just wanted to get rid of the add before I put my plan to action." Nita's eyes bugged out of her head and she turned around to face a tall, handsome man cloaked in darkness leering at her. She stood up quickly and backed away, fumbling to yank open her claudication for something to help her. She missed, and the Lone Power moved in on her.  
  
"MOM! DAD!" Nita screamed. The Lone One's laughter filled the room.  
  
"They can't hear you. I put up a sound block. You can't get out, either. I've finally got you right where I want you," the Lone One sneered at her. Finally, Nita yanked open her claudication, and felt for her wand, but only pulled out the glede before tumbling into complete darkness as a spell formed around her. She let out an earsplitting scream that came out as a muffled moan that no one could hear. It felt like she was spiraling down for hours before she hit a hard rock bottom and a searing pain shot up her elbow and she was riddled with pain. She let her eyes adjust to the dismal darkness that engulfed her. There were rock walls on all sides of her. It was like she was in a cave with no opening.  
  
"Help!" She called out until her voice was hoarse. "Somebody!" She tried to do a spell, or even open her claudication, but it was like a magic-free zone. Finally, she slumped down against the sharp, stone wall, soft tears spilling down her cheeks. She knew she'd never make it out of here alive.  
  
'And to think, he last thing I said to Kit was that I wanted him to leave me alone,' she furiously thought. Leaning her head against the jagged wall disconnecting her to the outside world, she knew there was nothing to do but wait. 


	2. Lost

Kit opened his wizard's manual. In black, bold ink, the word active sat stubbornly under his name. He sighed, and snapped it shut. 'I'll just have to do it alone then,' he thought. He decided to pay Tom and Carl a visit to see what it was all about. Saying a few syllables in the speech, a small pop of signaled the air displacement as Kit appeared in Tom and Carl's backyard. Tall hedges surrounded the yard with a small greenish pond in the middle with fish singing and leaping out of the water. Kit was about to rap his knuckles on the back door, when Tom swung it open and looked at him gravely.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Tom asked bewildered. Kit was startled.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm here for help," Kit retorted. Tom raised his eyebrows.  
  
"You should be working on your assignment," Tom told him simply. Kit sighed.  
  
"How? I don't know what the assignment is! I came to ask you!" Kit cried out, frustrated. Tom gave him a peculiar look.  
  
"Have you talked to Nita? You really don't know?" Tom asked. Kit groaned.  
  
"No, I haven't talked to Nita. Why can't you just tell me?" Kit asked.  
  
"I don't know what the assignment really is, that's why. But I know it has something to do with Nita," Tom said slowly.  
  
"Well, Nita's not active, so I don't know what to do!" Kit sagged on the side of the house, completely confused. "Thanks anyway," he muttered, and did the beam-me-up-scotty spell, and vanished in a pop of air.  
  
* * *  
  
"Help! Somebody! Kit! Dairine! Mom! Dad! ANYBODY!" Nita screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hoarse voice started to burn her throat. She slumped against the wall. 'Dairine. Dairine, please hear me! I don't know if you can, but try! Try!' She thought furiously. There was no response of her little sister's voice in her ear. Even though her sister was annoying most of the time, her voice, her bright red hair, her intellectual brain would have been comforting to her.  
  
Nita let a silent, wet tear roll down her cheek at the thought of never seeing her family again. And how long would her mother be around? She was still battling cancer, and now Nita was gone.  
  
Nita had no idea how long she'd been down in the dark cave, but her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark. When she had fallen, she remembered the glede had been wrenched from her hand. She searched around the inky blackness until she came across a small round object. She picked up the dull dragon's eye, and placed it on the rock beside her. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself and hugged herself tight, the sweeping cold coming over her.  
  
* * *  
  
"Nita? Nita, where are you? Nita, come out right now!" Mr. Callahan called out into the house. Her frantic mother searched for her in empty rooms, her bedroom, and anywhere she could look. The two parents were tearing the house apart, looking for the daughter that should have been in her bed hours ago, but wasn't.  
  
Dairine was forced to listen to this madness all the while, laying in her dark room. She turned over and checked the green glowing numbers on her digital clock. 1:43. 'At this rate, I'll never get to sleep. And I have a math exam tomorrow!' she thought angrily. 'Besides, they should know by now. she's probably just out doing wizardry.' Dairine flipped her manual open and checked the names. 'Kit's active, so Nita must be too.' but when she looked under Juanita Callahan, there was no indication that she was active. 'Strange." Dairine thought. She shook the book around as though it were a television that had gone snowy for a moment and could be fixed. but nothing changed.  
  
Dairine's stomach bottomed out. What was going on? Where was Nita, if she wasn't on assignment, at this hour? Dairine, chilled and worried, laid down yet again. Even if her parents stopped ripping through the house, she knew she wouldn't be able to get to sleep now.  
  
* * *  
  
Kit thought about what his assignment could possible be. He knew it was early in the morning, too early to talk to Nita, she would be asleep. Still, he tried to hear her. He focused his whole attention on listening to Nita. The other sounds around him muted. But still, it was like he couldn't get through to her. He could tell she wasn't asleep though.  
  
'Dairine? What's wrong with your sister?' Kit thought, noticing Dairine wasn't asleep either. 'Oh no-' he thought, remembering the last time something like this had happened. 'Did her mother.' he gulped.  
  
'No, no, nothing like that!' Dairine's voice came back in his ears. She sounded almost defiant.  
  
'Then what is it? And what's with Nita?' he thought. Dairine hesitated with the response.  
  
'Well, she never came home. Mom and Dad are about to call the police they're so worried. I can't get through to her,' Dairine replied. Kit's stomach churned. 'Never came home?' he wondered what could have happened to her.  
  
'I have no idea.' Dairine's voice came back, obviously having heard his last thought. Kit broke off on his thoughts and laid his head down on his pillow. How was he going to figure out what he was supposed to do? Or where Nita had gone? Kit sighed, turning over in bed, and fell into a fitful, restless sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Nita opened her blurry eyes. She rubbed them, stinging for sleep, which she'd been trying to get for hours, but simply couldn't. She turned over, and felt the hard glede on her back. She pulled it out and looked at the dismal, golden glow radiating from its depths. She turned it over, examining the smooth, shiny object. 'Maybe I could use this to help me get out of here,' she thought. 'Are you crazy?' another voice told her. 'There's no magic left in this thing. Not after last time.' her thoughts wandered away, wondering what Kita, Dairine, Mom, and Dad were doing now. 'I wonder what time it is.'  
  
Suddenly, a black shadow appeared in front of her. A handsome face distorted with evil, rage, and revenge stared back at her. She stood up suddenly, staring at him, too weak to fight.  
  
"You are wondering why you are here. Am I right?" The Lone One asked. Nita, quavering inside, held her head high, and didn't say a word. "I've been creating a new lair, and this is as good as it gets- for now. this cave you are in is in another dimension. I've also made a spell to capture you and bring you here in the first place. Now, all I have to do is wait. This is a win/win situation here. If Kit comes through to save you, I get to create as many universes as I want to be my own. And if he does not. well, you will no longer be one of my rivals." The sleek voice ended and rang through the cave in a never ending, eerie echo. echo. echo.  
  
Nita sat there and could do nothing but tensely wait for the worst. The Lone Power moved towards her, bringing his face close to hers.  
  
"But if I kill you now, I will have no more bait for your friend, so let's just wait and see." He conjured up an hourglass and turned it over, placing it on the hard stone.  
  
"He has five days. If he doesn't tell me by then, you're history." his voice disappeared, and so did he, into a small pop of air. Nita shivered, and sat back down. She looked at the charm bracelet on her wrist. It was shiny silver, and no ordinary bracelet. It was the one she'd used on her last mission, and she felt she couldn't part with it. She ran her fingers over the smooth, cool silver, the Lone One's voice echoing in her ears. 'You're history.' 


	3. Calling for Help

Kit sat in class, his mind wandering far from his studies. 'Nita. Where are you?' he focused his mind on that one thought.  
  
"Christopher? Are you with us?" Mrs. Slane, his teacher, asked him sternly. Kit looked around at the kids around him smirking and chuckling at him. "Try and pay attention," she scolded, going back to her lesson.  
  
Kit began to scribble notes in his notebook, and he felt himself getting drowsy. He closed his eyes, and soon the classroom dissolved into blackness.  
  
Kit was running. He wasn't just jogging- he was sprinting as fast as his feet could carry him. The world around him was a blur, all he knew was he had to keep running. He pumped his arms and felt his heart beat faster and faster to the rhythm of his footsteps. He ached all over and needed to rest, but he had to keep going.  
  
A distant voice called out to him from far ahead. "Kit! Kit!" It was Nita! Kit ran faster, he had to save her, but the more he ran, the farther to voice got.  
  
"Nita! I'm coming! Where are you?" he screamed into the darkness. He slowed down, as the reply came back, softer than before.  
  
"Kit! Is that you? You have to save me! You only have five days! Hurry!" her panicked voice met his ears. Kit stopped, and sat down. He was so tired he collapsed onto the ground, and looked around him. Suddenly, Ponch came up and licked his face.  
  
(You have to tell him,) Ponch barked at Kit. Kit sat up.  
  
"Tell who what?" he asked, thoroughly confused.  
  
(You have to tell him about my favorite spot. You only have five days.) Ponch whined. Kit looked around and saw he was in a green forest, with squirrels all around him. Ponch ran away and chased them, but Kit heard Nita's voice again.  
  
"Kit! I don't know what he wants you to tell him, but if it's important, something that could help him rise, don't tell him! But if it isn't, you only have five days, or I'm." her voice trailed off. Kit felt the world around him melt as he cried out,  
  
"You're what? Who are we talking about? Neets? Where are you?" His voice was mixed with a high pitched scream He thought it was Nita's, and he tried to save her, but his whole body was full of exhaustion, and he couldn't move. Kit was thrust back into his classroom, and opened his eyes. The bell was ringing to signal the end of class, and people were gathering their things left and right. Kit rubbed his eyes, picked up his books, and began to make his way out of the room, still feeling queasy and as though he were still dreaming.  
  
Kit was walking home alone after school, when he saw Dairine striding very quickly ahead of him. He hurried to catch up with her, and slowed her down.  
  
"Dairine. Have you heard from Nita yet?" Kit asked. He saw her pale face, and she replied,  
  
"Yeah. I accidentally fell asleep in class and she was- well, I don't know- calling for me. And you. She said you have five days. Whatever that means." Kit stared at her. That story seemed familiar.  
  
"Yeah, I fell asleep in class a couple hours ago, and had that same dream," he told her slowly. They stared at each other for a few moments, in confusion and irony, and began to walk home.  
  
"Why are we bothering with walking? I want to get home right away," Dairine told him out of the blue. "See you," she added, and disappeared with a small pop of air. Kit decided to do the same, and muttered a few syllables in the Speech. He performed the beam-me-up spell and appeared in his own backyard. Shrugging his backpack off his shoulders, he sat down and looked at Ponch.  
  
"Did I talk to you a few hours ago?" Kit asked, wondering if the dream was not a dream at all. Ponch gave him the impression of shrugging, and replied,  
  
(I think so. Yeah, I did! Don't you remember the squirrels?) Kit stared at him, wondering if all that was on his puny dog brain was squirrels. He sighed, stood up, and tossed Ponch's ball one last time before sliding open the door and stepping inside.  
  
* * *  
  
Nita sighed as she slumped back on the wall of the cave. She sagged on the sharp rock and wondered if Kit would come through, or if he wouldn't. 'It all depends on if it's really important,' she thought to herself. 'If it's too important to tell the Lone One, I'm finished.' Nita thought about the conversation she had just had with Kit. How was it that it was only sometimes that he could hear her- she knew she'd heard him back, and Ponch had been there too. it was all too confusing. Nita put her head in her hands and thought about it.  
  
"Kit! KIT!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping he would hear her again. She waited- but only a deadly silence followed. It was like no silence Nita's ears had ever bared. It was so quiet, normal ears would have burst. Nita's ears pounded from the silence and began to ring a high pitched, annoying sound. Nita banged her fist against the wall and threw rocks around to get her numb ears back to reality. She wondered how much more of this she would be able to take. She began to hum any old tune that came to her mind.  
  
Suddenly, a horrible thought made her weak notes cease. 'The last thing I was talking to Kit about was that I thought he should go solo,' that thought made her weak. If she never came back from this cave- this lair, then that was how Kit would remember her.  
  
"KIT! KIT! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" she shrieked, not wanting him to think of her like that. Only the ear throbbing silence replied to her muted screams, cut off from the outside worlds. Nita let a tear roll down her cheek, and she could hear it drip to the silent cave floor.  
  
Kit wondered if the only time Nita would be able to hear him would be when he was alseep. After all, that had been the only time he'd heard her before. Kit closed his eyes, and tried to fall asleep. 


	4. Dreams and Mistrust

Kit sat on the cold stone below the cool shade of the trees, casting sharp edged shadows across the dirt. He kicked a stone that cried out in pain, and without apologizing, stood up to leave. He knew where he was; he just didn't know why he was there. A voice in distress made him stop dead in his tracks.  
  
"Kit! Kit! Please do something! Anything!" Nita's wails met up with his ears. His heart began to pound, and he looked around for her.  
  
"Where are you Nita?" Kit called into the dark trees that surrounded him.  
  
"I don't know.a- a cave I guess! I think it's His lair!" She called back, her voice weak from screaming.  
  
"Whose lair?" Kit called back to the earsplitting silence. "Neets? NITA!" Then he was falling back into the dirt, farther back still, under the ground, beneath the earth's crust, and he could not stop from the oncoming darkness.  
  
"My lair," A cold, bone-chilling voice rang out into the darkness, and Kit knew immediately who it was. His stomach bottomed out and color drained from his face. Finally, he hit rock bottom on a cold, stone floor. He thought it was the cave, and searched the inky blackness for Nita. She was nowhere in sight.  
  
"She's not here right now," The Lone Power told Kit. He stepped out of the shadows and Kit saw his glowing face, black, flowing robes and sinister glare.  
  
"You need to show me what you've been doing. I know you know what I'm talking about Kit. the Universes that you've made? I need you to tell me how to make them. Then I will have my universe back, a perfect universe full of all the horrors mortals and wizards alike dread. If you do not, then your friend Nita will die. You have to make a decision. You have five days. Well, four, by now. Hurry up and set your priorities straight Kit, or it might be too late for you and your friend here." The Lone One's silky voice split the rocky walls of the cave, and Kit was drowning in terror.  
  
"Kit! Kit!" Nita's voice broke the ringing silence. Kit looked around again, and listened to her voice.  
  
"Kit! If you let him make a new universe like that, He'll have more power! Don't tell him Kit! I'll be fine!" Nita tried to convince herself, without success. She knew it was the right thing to do, but tears still welled up in her eyes as she uttered the words she had not wanted to say. "You've got to do what it right Kit!" Kit longed to see her, to know everything was all right.  
  
"You have four days Kit. I'll be counting, and Nita will be as well."  
  
And Kit was falling again. Soaring through the black abyss until he thought he could no longer continue. He hit something solid below him, jarring his arm and quickly waking with a start.  
  
Kit looked around. He'd fallen onto the hard wood floor. Holding his stinging arm, he stood and sat down on his bed. He had a tough decision to make.  
  
'I'll bet this is how Nita felt when she had to chose whether to give up her wizardry to save her mom or not,' he though bitterly. He, as Nita had, knew what was the right thing to do, but he couldn't press himself to admit it.  
  
'But I don't even know how to do it! Only Ponch does!' Kit argued with himself. He decided to go to Ponch for help.  
  
"Ponch, can you take me back to that place?" Kit asked his playful dog.  
  
(Sure, if you want. Do you want to see the squirrels? Can we go to the squirrels?) Ponch asked, hopping up and down, his fur blowing in the wind.  
  
"No," Kit answered. "I'd rather not. Let's go somewhere else." Ponch gave Kit the impression of a shrug, and suddenly, they were both standing somewhere entirely different from their backyard. They were on a beach, with the wind softly rustling the leaves on the palm trees, and the ocean gently lapping at the sandy beach. Kit looked around.  
  
"How did we get here?" Kit asked, still confused as to how it worked.  
  
(I thought about a beach, and it came.) Ponch answered simply. Kit let out an aggravated sigh.  
  
"But, how do I get here alone?" Kit asked him, frustrated.  
  
(You can't. You need me. I don't know how it all works, but humans can't do it alone.) Ponch replied, lying lazily on a towel that magically appeared on the beach. (Can I have the squirrels now?) H asked in anticipation. Kit sighed, sat down on the wet sand near the blue water, and shrugged.  
  
"Go ahead," he mumbled, still debated on what to do. Ponch leaped up, and instantly a bunch of squirrels came running out from behind a palm tree. Kit lay back, let the cool breeze brush his face, and let himself dissolve into his thoughts.  
  
Nita was aching from having to lie on the hard rock of the cave, and starving from lack of food for two days. Her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, fell upon the hourglass, the white sand dripping down in a stream. Just a little less than half of the sand was piling in the bottom. 'Come on.' Nita thought desperately. 'Come on Kit, do something! Anything!' She hoped for a reply, but only the deadly silence followed and sliced her ears from the world.  
  
Kit racked his brain for an answer. Anything to buy him time or show him the way. He pounded his head on the tree behind him as a squirrel and Ponch ran past him in a blur of fur. 'That's it!' he thought, leaping up. 'I'll just tell him that he needs my dog. That's all I know anyway. Then, he won't be able to do anything.' It was hardly a plan, but it was the best Kit could do for now. He'd just have to close his eyes and wait for more sleep to come.  
  
Finally, after a long wait, Kit found himself in a dark cave. He looked around, and called out as soon as his feet hit the hard cave bottom,  
  
"Nita! Where are you? I need to talk!" Ringing silence followed Kit's ears, until he heard a small, weak voice call back that faltered.  
  
"Kit? I'm here! What is it? What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice getting weaker and fainter with every word. Kit searched for a good answer, and finally called back,  
  
"I- I'm going to tell him something, but not the entire thing!" There was a long pause before Nita's voice came back, cracking.  
  
"You- you're going to tell him? Does that mean I'll get out? You only have three days, do it quick!" Kit listened to the sound of this, and winced. He knew he couldn't make a good decision about this in three days. Finally, he answered.  
  
"I can't tell him the truth though! He'll get whatever he wants! That could be a really bad thing! So I'll- I'll lie, and maybe you'll get out." His voice died out, listening to his own words. 'Maybe.' Nita had thought the same thing.  
  
"Maybe? You mean I might. But you have to get me out! You have to!" she sounded desperate. Kit closed his eyes.  
  
"But I can't tell him everything! There's a chance-"  
  
"A chance? There can't be a chance? Kit, if you don't hurry, I'm going to starve to death!"  
  
"Neets, it's not that simple! I CAN'T TELL HIM!"  
  
"Ok fine, don't tell him, leave me here to die." her voice told him with slight sarcasm. Kit sighed. He knew the conversation was over, and he fell back into the blackness.  
  
"So Kit, do you have an answer for me?" The Lone One's slick voice echoed in the distance. Kit struggled for words.  
  
"Yes. yes I do. You can't do it alone you see. You have to have my dog, Ponch, with you, or-" The Lone Power cut him off.  
  
"I'll need more information later, but for now, you've done your part." The Lone One told him.  
  
"So will you let Nita-?" Kit was cut off.  
  
"Not yet," was his only answer before Kit was spiraling back through space and time to the real world where he could not communicate with the doomed Nita.  
  
Kit awoke with a start and saw he was in the black universe he'd been in before where he'd found the glede. He looked around, his eyes adjusting slowly to the inky darkness.  
  
"Ponch? Ponch, where are you?" he called out, waiting to see a fluffy dog bound out at him with a squirrel in his mouth. No dog came though.  
  
"Ponch? Ponch?" Kit called a few more times. Silent. Still. Nothing. "PONCH! NO GAMES! GET OVER HERE!" Silent. Still. Nothing. Kit's heart pounded in his chest as he realized what he'd done- he'd sold his own dog over to the Lone Power! Panic growing inside him, he rushed through the darkness to find a way home. 


	5. The Macao

Kit raced through the darkness when he stumbled and fell to the hard ground below him, darkness engulfing him. Kit tried not to let tears leak out of his eyes as he tried to breathe. He looked down below him, and stared at the darkness below him where he had found the glede. Kit stared, and something shiny caught his eye. It was black and hard to see, but it was definitely there, as he could see it glint at him as if creating its own light. Kit pushed a hand through the glassy bottom, and felt it give like firm Jell-O. He pushed through it until his arm was down under the surface up to his shoulder. He felt for the shiny, hard object, and his fingers brushed it. He reached down further, until his head was almost underneath.  
  
Kit grasped the tiny object in his hand and began to pull himself up. He watched the floor become solid and glassy again as he examined the object. It was crescent shaped, and hard, cool black glass. It gave off a faint silver glow, and Kit tossed it into his claudication before attempting to find his way back into the real world.  
  
* * *  
  
Nita closed her eyes as she sat on the stone below her, thinking how horrible everything was. At this rate, she'd never see her family again. She wiped a tear from her eye as a dark shadow appeared with a furry creature.  
  
The Lone One stared at Nita with cold, unsympathetic eyes. Nita's gaze turned to the dog on his right, and she stared him with bewilderment. It was-  
  
"Ponch! What are you doing here?" she asked with much confusion.  
  
(I don't know. One minute, I was chasing squirrels, and the next, I was in a dark cave with the Lone Power!) Ponch replied with little amusement in his voice.  
  
"He's here to help me. I just thought you should know Kit has helped me somewhat. not enough to set you free of course. But I know that I need his dog to help me create a universe. Just thought I'd tell you. Just because you're locked in a cave, it doesn't mean you shouldn't know about your slim chances of ever getting out alive." The Lone One laughed mirthlessly, and he began to vanish with Ponch at his side.  
  
"No! Ponch!" Nita lunged at him, but she was too late. Ponch had disappeared with one final phrase-  
  
(Don't worry, I won't help him!) But Nita knew that if Ponch didn't help the Lone Power, then Ponch would be. dead meat.  
  
Nita sighed at slumped back on the wall behind her, wondering if she could contact Dairine or Kit.  
  
"Dairine! Kit! Anyone!" Nita called out hoarsely. Surprisingly, Dairine responded.  
  
"Nita!" she called in a far off voice. "Nita, what's going on? Mom and Dad are going nuts looking for you! When are you coming back?" Nita felt a mixture of happiness that she could talk to her sister and sadness at the news she would have to tell her.  
  
"I don't know if I'm coming back! It all depends on Kit and Ponch! If I do, I'll be back in two days! But, if I don't." Nita's voice trailed off. Dairine had no reply.  
  
* * *  
  
'I've got to make Kit see reason,' Dairine thought the moment she woke up. 'Or Nita will never come back!' She quickly hopped up and did the beam-me- up-Scotty spell, appearing in Kit's backyard. She quickly strode up to the back door and rapped on it loudly. Kit appeared and slid it open, wondering why Dairine was there.  
  
"You have to save Nita! You have to!" She practically screamed in his face.  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" His voice cracked. "I was trying to, but by accident, I sold Ponch over to the Lone Power! I just don't know what to do anymore! It's not up to me; it's out of my hands. It's all up to Ponch!" Kit cried back at her. Dairine stared at him.  
  
"Well, I don't care who it's up to anymore, we've got to think of something that will help her!" she sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. Kit sighed, and pulled open his claudication. The shiny black object came falling out on top of him. It hit him on the head and rolled onto the table. Kit rubbed his sore head and Dairine stared at the object with interest.  
  
"What is this?" She asked, turning it over in her hands. Kit shrugged, and her face lit up all of a sudden.  
  
"I think I've read about one of these in my manual!" Her manual appeared out of nowhere, and she flipped to a page. "Yeah, it's called a Macao- a Dragon's horn. I don't think it really does anything. it is very powerful, useful for complex spells. Supposed to make gledes that lost power regain power. Hasn't been spotted in over two decades. Said to-" Kit cut her off.  
  
"Wait, back up. It gives power to worn out gledes?" Dairine nodded, a confused look coming over her face.  
  
"Why?" She asked.  
  
"Nita has that old glede with her from before. I wonder if she could use this to help, I don't know, defeat the Lone Power." Kit let himself drown in his thoughts as Dairine continued to give him quizzical looks. Finally, she sighed, saying one last thing before heading out.  
  
"But you can't get it to her unless you go to the cave. Just- just save her!" And with that, Kit was left alone to ponder what he could possibly do.  
  
Dairine made her way home and found her parents sitting in a dark living room. Just sitting there.  
  
"What's going on? Why are the lights off?" Dairine asked, flipping on a light switch. She went and sat down next to her mother, and said,  
  
"Everything will be all right. Nita will be home tomorrow." Dairine knew that she had a fifty-fifty chance of being right. Either Nita would be coming home tomorrow, or she wouldn't be coming home at all. 


	6. The Last Day

He had to find a way to get to the cave. But where was it? How would he get there? What if he didn't make it in time? He had to go today, or. or. he didn't even want to think about it.  
  
And the problem was he needed to communicate with Nita, but couldn't unless he was asleep. But now that he was so high strung, he couldn't possibly fall asleep. And he needed Ponch! 'What if the Lone One doesn't need him, and he kills Ponch too?' Kit shook his head. He couldn't He wouldn't. But then again, he was the Lone Power. He was willing to kill Nita; of course he'd kill a dog. Kit was just kidding himself.  
  
'Come on Neets. Think. How can we communicate if I'm not asleep?' Kit decided that if he was going to figure out how to do this, he would have to do it on his own. This was his job. The question was HOW WOULD HE GET THERE? It was impossible.  
  
Kit decided to give Tom and Carl a visit. Maybe they knew something about changing universes, or whatever it was that Kit had to do to find Nita. He disappeared with a small pop of air and appeared in Tom and Carl's backyard. He watched as Carl opened the back door, and noticed that Kit was there.  
  
"Hey Kit, what's the update?" He asked. Kit sighed.  
  
"The update is- no update. I have no idea what I'm going to do. Is there anything you know about how to get into another universe? Or dimension? Or something?" Kit asked. Carl scratched his head, and led Kit inside.  
  
"Not my department. Tom might, though, ask him." Kit suddenly found a possible plan in his head, and it grew and grew like a dim light bulb getting brighter and brighter.  
  
"Carl, you still sell time, don't you?" Kit asked in a rush, remembering his Ordeal. Carl nodded, and the idea came to him as well.  
  
"That's a good idea, giving you some time to think of a plan. Be right back," Carl headed down a hallway, and Tom popped his head out of the kitchen.  
  
"What's going on Kit?" He asked, stepping out. Kit sighed, and asked,  
  
"Do you know anything about- I don't know- switching universes?" Tom rubbed his chin deep in thought.  
  
"Yeah. yeah, I think I do. Hold on a second." And he left too. Kit stood around, waiting for the two men to come back. He slipped the Macao out of his claudication and looked at its smooth surface. How he would get it to Nita in time was beyond him, but at least he'd have more time to do it.  
  
Carl appeared again with a notebook, and picked up a pencil.  
  
"What time do you want?" Carl asked him. Kit shrugged. It was 9:52 AM now, so he decided,  
  
"How about three hours starting at 10:00?" Kit suggested. Carl scribbled this down and Kit sighed. He was up four hours. Then, Tom appeared again, and he was paging through a book.  
  
"Switching universes. switching universes." He muttered under his breath. "Aha! Changing Universes. does this work?" Tom handed Kit the book and Kit thanked him.  
  
"You can keep that book for now to find what you need. I guarantee it has whatever you need. Special edition manual." Tom explained. Kit thanked him again and left, trying to spare as much time as he could by using the beam-me-up-Scotty spell right from their backyard.  
  
"Good luck!" Tom called after him, watching sadly as he vanished. If Kit couldn't pull this off.  
  
Kit arrived at his house. He had a couple minutes before the time lapse began. Kit opened the book to the marked page. He vowed to search and devise a plan for the next three hours. It had to work. Kit scanned the words.  
  
Changing Universes.  
  
Changing universes is no easy task. It takes a lot of difficult mind control, or you might end up somewhere you don't want to be. It is a simple set up with a complex performance. First, interlock the two spells Transit and Unisversona in a weaving pattern. Then, you must lay it around you in circle, tying it together with the wizard's knot. Add your name in, and you might want a power surging spell for this next part.  
  
Kit stopped reading. This looked like no easy task- very advanced magic. What he needed was Ponch to help him! Maybe to create a Universe and- and-  
  
And suddenly, Kit had the most brilliant idea ever! But the problem was he needed Ponch to help him do it. He needed Ponch.  
  
Ponch stood in the middle of the blackest black his dog eyes had ever beheld. The Lone Power stood staring at him.  
  
"Well? Create my universe NOW!" he cried at the mangy mutt. Ponch whimpered, then answered defiantly,  
  
(No. I am not the one who can do this. Kit lied. What you need to do is take me back to Kit so he can tell you how to really do this.) Ponch hoped this would work. The Lone Power scoffed.  
  
"Do you think I would listen to whatever a stupid dog said? But, I guess I'm getting nowhere like this. Remember- you only have less than a day left or else." And with that, the Lone Power snapped his finger and Ponch vanished.  
  
Kit rubbed his forehead wondering what to do when in a small pop of air, his dog came bounding up at him, ready to lick his face.  
  
"Ponch! How did you-? Where did you-?" Kit was at a loss for words. Finally, he managed to spit out, "What HAPPENED?" Ponch explained to him, and Kit gave him a treat.  
  
"Now, I have an idea. We have extra time that I bought from Carl, so we can practice for three hours. I just hope this is really where Nita is. If it's not, I have no idea what we'll do or how we'll find her." Then, Kit began to explain to Ponch what they had to do, Ponch's dog eyes widening with every word. Of course, if made perfect sense! And he'd already done it before! It was so clever- so simple- and the perfect plan to get to the Universe that Nita was in.  
  
Kit picked up the book Tom had lent him and closed it. He wouldn't need it.  
  
Nita put her head in her hands. The hourglass was nearly empty. She hardly had any time left. She wondered if Kit would ever come for her, or if he would leave her there to- Nita gulped, just hoping Kit was busy devising a plan.  
  
Kit looked around him. He was in the strangest place- Carmela, his sister's, brain. Ponch had done what he'd done before for Nita's mom in the hospital- he'd made her inside landscape into a real universe that he could go to. Kit looked around again, seeing that he was in a place that looked like Los Vegas. There were flashing lights, buildings, and lots of shopping malls. Suddenly, Carmela appeared out of nowhere, looking around in admiration.  
  
"It's kind of nice in here, don't you think?" she asked. Kit raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Thanks for the practice. We don't really need anything else right now. We should practice on someone else's brain now." Kit explained, pulling Ponch away from a nearby squirrel by his wizard leash.  
  
"See ya then," Carmela waved goodbye as Kit and Ponch vanished, wondering who to practice on next. Kit thought about trying it on Nita, just to see what she would have in her head, but shook his head no. That wasn't where she was, after all. She was stuck in the Lone One's inner landscape, which had become an exterior Universe. At least, Kit hoped she was.  
  
(Why don't we try my brain?) Ponch suggested. Kit laughed.  
  
"I already know what we'll find there: squirrels, squirrels, and more squirrels," But he found himself and Ponch disappearing off to Ponch's brain.  
  
Nita stared at he hourglass. Where was Kit? It seemed that the last little bit of sand would waste away within seconds, but surprisingly it seemed to go slower to her. Probably because of the trauma, and partly because even though there was a little sand left, she knew she had hours on end to find a way out of there.  
  
Kit looked at his watch. He'd already wasted his three hours traveling from his own brain, to Carmela's, to both his parent's, and to Ponch's. Finally, he thought he was ready. Suddenly, he was back at 10:00 AM, instead of 1:00 PM. He had more time now! Kit smiled, but it soon vanished as he realized what he was about to do. He wondered what time he had that day until Nita would be killed. Apparently, his time was almost up. 


	7. Time's Up

Nita's stomach was growling louder than ever. The pains shot up through her chest with the need for food. The Lone One had given her a measly portion of bread and a tiny cup of water a few days earlier, to keep her alive, but now that was all gone, and she was in more pain than before. She was beyond hunger; she was at starvation. Her stomach churned with acids that burned through her empty insides. But Nita thought if she ate anything, she would barf it up. Nita pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her body, rolling onto the wall behind her. Nita groaned as another wave of pain overtook her body, and she had the impulse to scream, but she didn't. Then, she rolled again and felt something hard underneath her. It was the glede.  
  
'A lot of good that'll do me now,' she thought angrily, shoving it aside, as she lay down once again on the hard, stone floor.  
  
***  
  
Kit breathed in deep breaths, but could not calm himself. Doing magic without that strong other voice at his side felt unnerving. And he was supposed to trust himself with pulling this off?  
  
'What if she's not even there? What if the Glede doesn't help her? What if time runs out? What if the Lone One killed her anyway? What if.?' Kit shook himself out of these dazed thoughts. Ponch was looking up at him mournfully.  
  
(Should we go?) He asked with unease in his voice. Kit sighed, and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, we'd better get this over with. One second." Kit told him. He sat back down on the chair, and thought, 'Dairine? Are you there?' There was a hesitation, and then a reply.  
  
'Yeah?' Dairine's voice faltered. Kit gulped, listening to her hopeless voice.  
  
'Tell your parents that- that-' Kit couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. 'Tell them that Nita will be home today.' Another pause.  
  
'Kit?' Dairine's voice came back to Kit's ears.  
  
'Yeah?' Kit answered.  
  
'Try to bring Nita home. I don't know what I'll do if she-' Dairine broke off, but Kit understood anyway.  
  
'Don't worry. She's coming home.' And Kit broke off the connection, standing up once again.  
  
"Ready?" Kit brushed himself off nervously. Ponch gave Kit the impression of a shrug, and answered,  
  
(Yep.) Then, Kit opened his 'pocket' of otherspace, and pulled out the spell for the wizard leash that bound them together. Dropping the long string of syllables in the Speech over them, Kit braced himself for the journey that lied ahead.  
  
(Do we find Him first?) Ponch asked wonderingly. Kit shrugged.  
  
"Do you have His scent?" Ponch gave him the look of a nod, and Kit shrugged.  
  
"Go for it then." And soon they were walking in the darkness. Kit looked around, recognizing this place.  
  
"Why are we here? Is this where he is?" Kit asked. Then, he saw a shadow looming in front of him. The person drew closer, and Kit peered through the thick darkness at the person. Then, he recognized it- it was the Lone Power, a handsome man with red hair. But this appearance didn't fool Kit for a second. Finally, he stepped closer, and said,  
  
"Fairest and Fallen," he began with a deep breath, "greetings and defiance." The Lone Power stared at him silently. Kit glanced back at Ponch, connected to him with the long string of glowing syllables that was the wizard leash. Without waiting for a reply from the Lone One, Ponch began to transform the Lone Power's inner landscape into a universe.  
  
Kit felt the darkness closing in around him, and the silent stillness enclosing him as the emptiness rang in his ears with no sounds that accompanied it like usual. Kit squeezed his eyes shut, not able to move more than that as the darkness folded around him like a thick blanket. Everything stopped.  
  
Finally, Kit found himself in a dark cave, hoping this was where Nita was. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness that engulfed him, and finally he saw a curled up, shivering figure on the floor of the cave. Kit rushed over to her, and shook her awake.  
  
"Kit- how did you get here?" Nita croaked. Kit answered,  
  
"No time to explain. I've got to give you some thing. Here," Kit reached out his finger into the air to unzip his pocket, but nothing happened. His finger didn't catch on anything- it was just empty air.  
  
"What the-?" Kit cried out, astonished. Ponch hurried up and looked from Nita to Kit, asking,  
  
(What's wrong? What is it?) But Nita understood what Kit was doing.  
  
"You can't get it open here. I tried." Kit groaned, and told her,  
  
"I'll have to leave, get it out, and then come back. It won't take long." Kit replied, spinning around. He saw the large hourglass, and stared at it.  
  
"You don't have much time Kit," Nita told him, noticing his gaze. There was hardly any sand left as it tumbled down rapidly.  
  
"But- but I bought more time!" Kit cried out. "Unless it doesn't work here! Oh man!" Kit groaned, and turned to Ponch. "We've got to go quickly." Kit told him. Ponch's eyes widened, and leaped at Kit, who dove after him into the grim darkness. Nita watched, as the last few grains of sand began to fall, thinking it was too late for her.  
  
Kit reached out into the darkness and yanked open his claudication. He pulled out the Macao, and hurried Ponch along to go back to the cave. Finally, they were spat back into the dark cave, where the last grain of sand fell down to the large pile below it.  
  
The Lone Power appeared in the cave beside Kit and the weak Nita on the floor.  
  
"Well?" the Lone One hissed at Kit. "Will you give me my information, or will you kill your partner?" he asked maliciously. Kit stood his ground, and tossed Nita the Macao.  
  
"What is this?" she croaked, and Kit fell to the ground in search of the glede.  
  
"Looking for this?" the Lone Power held up the glede. Then, the Macao shot towards the Lone One as well, landing in his open hand. Kit held his breath as he watched the Lone Power take the large end of the dragon horn and press it up against the glede. The dragon eye let a bright white light shoot out from it, as bright as the light of Time Heart, the kind of light that mortal eyes could not handle. It blasted through the darkness and Kit was blown back, shielding his eyes from the light, but it only grew stronger. The glede hung in midair, letting out a furious blow of air that pushed Nita to the wall as well as the Lone Power, who was flung onto the floor behind him. The glede finally faded, still glowing dimly, and dropped to the floor beside the empty Macao. Kit lunged forward by the snarling Lone One, grabbing the glede and holding it out in front of him, not knowing what to do next.  
  
Kit squinted in the sudden darkness and looked to Nita, who was moaning on the floor. He reached down to help her, but the Lone Power chucked the hourglass to the stone wall, shattering it and sending sand spewing in all directions.  
  
"Your time is up. It was a good attempt, but it didn't work." And he raised his hands to kill Nita. 


	8. Lone One's Chase

Kit's ears pounded as he watched in slow motion, Nita's eyes widen as she automatically reached for her charm bracelet with all of her spells on it. Kit stared at the glede in his hands as though he were in a dream, and finally held up the glede and watched its brightness overtake the dismal cave. The Lone Power staggered back, blown by the power of the glede. Then, Kit pulled Nita up and ran through the darkness, to the wall, and suddenly they were in a whole other place completely.  
  
They ran, Ponch alongside, through a sandy wasteland. The sky was bleak and reddish brown from the sand in the air, and the wind was nothing but the faintest breeze that stung Kit's eyes with sand. Nita covered her head with her arm, not anticipating this.  
  
"Ponch- where are we?" Kit asked in amazement.  
  
(I had to get us out of there.) Was Ponch's only reply. (But He'll be coming soon, so we might want to move.) Nita gave Kit a quizzical look, and Kit noticed that the glede was gone from his hands.  
  
'Did I drop it in the cave?' he wondered. Shrugging, he, Nita, and Ponch set off through the desert, bowed against the growing wind and sand that blew in torrents around them.  
  
A dark figure appeared in the sand dunes where the three shadows had just left, scowling in such a way that made the darkness bend around him like he owned it and it moved at his will. Shadows cast across his no longer handsome face, he set out after them.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Nita asked, sand stinging her eyes.  
  
"I'm not sure. Ponch is running the show now. Ponch?"  
  
(I guess we'll have to keep running until he stops following us. That might take forever.)  
  
Forever. The words rang in Nita's ears.  
  
"So- we might just have to keep running from him until we lose him- or we die?" Nita asked, a chill running down her spine despite the immense heat.  
  
(I guess so. Unless you have a way to stop him.) Kit stared into the sand. How would they continue this on forever? It was a dark, looming thought that hovered over him grimly. Kit grimaced against the sandy wind.  
  
"So," Kit didn't know what else to say. What would he have said? 'At least we'll hop from universe to universe together?' Not too reassuring on his part. Ponch stopped to scratch himself from the sand. His collar jangled merrily, a sound that echoed through the sand dunes and to the Lone Power lost in the red world.  
  
He looked ahead and saw the dog, Nita, and Kit. He had them right where he wanted them. Now, he just needed to strike-  
  
And, without warning, the Lone One appeared next to them, startling them terribly. Ponch let out a yelp as the One sneered maliciously, and suddenly the world faded to black again.  
  
Nita looked at the new world she had been spat into. Despite her stomach discomfort, she stood and stared around at the rainforest. Feeling guilty for her thoughts about the banana's hanging from the trees, Nita turned and began to run again with Kit and Ponch. They went on in silence except for the soft pit-pat of rain dripping on the green leaves and the buzz of the insects. 'Is this how we'll spend the rest of eternity? Racing from universe to universe?' Kit wondered. Closing his eyes, he tried not to imagine that this was how it would go. They had to think of something.  
  
Nita couldn't help it- she grabbed a banana off a tree and peeled it as she walked, devouring it in seconds. Ponch and Kit didn't even notice. Kit looked grim and determined, deep in thought, and Ponch was striding forward, panting hard. Nita tossed he peel aside and strode on with them until her legs were sore and her muscles hurt.  
  
"I need a rest. My feet are killing me," Nita surprised herself in saying. Kit looked astonished.  
  
"You know we can't stop. If we do, He'll catch up," Kit answered, searching for a way out of this.  
  
"I know, but how much longer can we keep this up? You know it won't last. Either we give in, or we do something to stop Him." Kit had this thought exactly, but couldn't bring himself to admit it. Finally, he shook his head angrily.  
  
"I know, I know. But we have to keep walking in the meantime while I figure out what that something will be," he urged Nita to get up. Unwillingly, Nita got to her tired feet and trudged on through the mud beneath her sneakers.  
  
***  
  
Dairine stared out the window into nothing in particular. She had been stealing glances at her clock ever five minutes or so.  
  
7:15 PM  
  
Sighing, she wondered where Nita and Kit were. She tried to get through to Nita, but she was out of ambit. Flopping herself down on her bed, she grabbed a book and began to read, without really concentrating on the text her eyes were scanning. Finally, her dad appeared at her bedroom door. He said nothing at first, but Dairine knew what he was thinking.  
  
"She might be back soon." Dairine tried on a smile. It didn't fit. Technically, she wasn't lying. Nita might be back soon, but might not. Dairine cringed, and her dad noticed.  
  
"How's Mom?" Dairine asked, getting off the subject at hand.  
  
"She's been better. This whole Nita missing ordeal has got her sicker, but she knows Nita will be back. Deep down, I think she knows." Her dad smiled a weak smile, and Dairine knew what was going on. Her mom was on her last hours. It had been a couple months since she had the surgery, and Dairine could sense that this wouldn't last long. Sighing, Dairine tried to smile once again, but her lips would not even move this time.  
  
***  
  
Kit felt weary and sleepy. Every other minute, he would squeeze his eyes shut and open them, hoping his surroundings would melt away and become his room. He tried to keep his eyes in focus, but he was so tired.  
  
Nita didn't feel much different. Her feet were numb and her head felt heavy. She had a pounding headache, but still she walked on.  
  
Ponch was on the verge of howling. He didn't want to be here, in this new universe they had just arrived at. The hard rocks of the coast hurt his paws and the waves crashing against the shore were deafening in his ears.  
  
'At least this is better than the last one,' Nita thought, cringing at the memory of the freezing cold snow, icy air in her lungs, and chilly, bleak sky. The fact that she didn't have a coat made matters worse there.  
  
"That's it," Kit sighed, slumping on a rock near the salty ocean spray. "There's nothing we can do." Nita gave him a mournful look, but knew he was right. Kit wished she wouldn't look at him like that. It pained him to see that. 'If only we could go back in time and change things. Just change the fact that Nita had ever-' And suddenly Kit's thought was burst in by a stroke of brilliance. He leapt up, the perfect plan ringing in his ears.  
  
"Ponch! Take us back to the One's universe!" Kit called out. Both Nita and Ponch gave him a look of bewilderment, and Kit groaned. "Just do it!" Ponch gave him the impression of a shrug, and got up from his resting position near the rocks. Shaking himself all over, he stretched and Nita stood up too. She looked behind them, and cried out,  
  
"Watch out!" For the Lone One had caught up, and Kit turned back to Ponch wildly. Then, the world was spinning, falling, fading to black. 


	9. A Kernel of Hope

Kit landed hard on the floor of the dank cave, and Ponch came soaring through the air after him. Nita appeared as well, landing on top of Kit.  
  
"Sorry," Nita muttered, rolling to one side so that Kit could get up. Kit groaned softly and stood up. He had no time to spare. Grabbing Nita's hand and hauling her to her feet, Kit looked around the dark cave. There sure weren't many hiding places here.  
  
"Nita, how do you detect the kernel?" At first, Nita looked confused and weary, but then her eyes lit up and a small smile spread across her tired face. She looked around, holding out her hands to feel for the rhythmic beating that lead her towards the kernel. Suddenly, her thoughts and feelings were interrupted by something else- something unwanted. The Lone One appeared by Kit's side, sneering at him. Kit's heart plunged, as he thought,  
  
'Come on Neets.' Nita looked around, panicking, trying to find the kernel. She was led towards the left wall of the cave to a small boulder on the floor. Trying hard to concentrate, Nita bent down to examine the rock but found nothing. It was well hidden. The One stepped closer, leering at her, daring her to make a move.  
  
Kit watched in horror, scanning his brain for some sort of spell that would save them. Trying to fit together the bubble spell, Kit squeezed his eyes shut, figuring out the parameters.  
  
The Lone Power moved swiftly forward, Nita losing her grip on where the pulsating of the kernel was coming from.  
  
'Come on. Come on, where are you.' Nita thought desperately, searching all over for the perfectly hidden kernel that ran the Lone One's tiny world. The Lone One stooped down, and lifted the still fully charged glede from the ground where Kit had dropped it earlier. He held it out in front of Him, sneering. He picked a perfect spell out of its brain, and leered again, his handsome face glowing with evil revenge. Kit was still reconfiguring the parameters of the bubble spell, trying to feed energy into it or else it wouldn't be strong enough to face the Lone One, who held up His hands.  
  
Kit squeezed his eyes shut, slumping to the ground in defeat. Nita's screams burst through his head shrilly, magnified in his head. He'd let her down. He'd let her down.  
  
Nita slumped to the ground, the world feeling fuzzy and fading. Her tongue seemed to fill up her mouth. She glanced at Kit and Ponch, who was crouching in a corner, and then at the Lone Power, holding up the magnificently glowing glede, who'd finally killed her. The light of the glede invaded her eyes. The muffled sounds pounded in her ears. Then, she let her head fall to the rough surface and her eyes roll back in her head, and everything faded away.  
  
"NITA!" Kit screamed in anguish. Ponch whimpered, hardly daring to make another sound. The glede was burnt out again, and tumbled to the floor with a crash. Kit stared at it. He'd come all this way to save Nita using the Macao to recharge the glede, and it backfired. The glede ended up killing Nita. Kit felt like he would never stand up again, but then a crazy idea entered his head. He got up, both the Lone One and Ponch watching him intensely, and Kit wandered towards the left wall and opened his senses to the kernel. He felt a pulsating around him, and moved until it got louder in his ears and his whole body shook from it. Then, he opened his eyes. He was crouching near the rock Nita had been inspecting. He moved the rock, but found nothing.  
  
'Then where could it be?' his mind screamed at him. He absentmindedly reached for his claudication, his otherspace pocket, and remembered it couldn't be accessed there. 'I wonder why.' but the answer soon appeared, plain as day in his head. 'I can't get mine because there's another very powerful one here holding something really important! It's taking up all the claudication space!' Kit reached forward to the boulder, and his finger latched a zipper. He pulled it down, and opened up the Lone One's permanent world's claudication. He then pulled out something he never thought he'd manage to get- the kernel for this other world. It was a mass of intricate, weaving, golden strings all stuck together to form a ball shape. Kit held it in his hands, and the One's eyes widened, terrified that Kit held his world's very existence and could destroy it at his own leisure.  
  
Kit pressed the flexible ball in his hands, figuring out a way to make it go back in time. He pushed here, and there, not quite knowing how to do this. Finally, Kit pressed at one point, and found himself falling back in time, the pounding of the kernel pressing in his eardrums until he thought they would pop. Kit finally landed on the cool, cave floor mere minutes before, and looked around at Nita, Ponch, and the Lone Power. Nita was sitting on the floor searching for the kernel that Kit held in his hands. She looked up at Kit, astonished at what he held in his hands. Ponch also looked up at him, wondering what had just happened.  
  
"Nita, I've got it. I've got the kernel." Kit held it out for her to see.  
  
"How did you.?" Nita asked, bewildered.  
  
"I'll explain later," Kit mumbled, turning to the Lone Power. "One more press here, and your world is history," Kit informed him. "And if I press here, you will not be able to chase us anymore. I'll trap you here." Kit stared him square in the eye, not budging. "So which would you prefer?" The Lone One's eyes searched for a way out of this, but there was none. Nita stared at Kit, impressed at how he'd done all this, and guilty hat she had ever doubted that Kit would come through.  
  
"Go ahead. Trap me here. I'm still out there, in all of you. I'll still chase you," The Lone One told him. Kit nodded.  
  
"I know you will, but at least part of you will still be here," Kit told the Lone One, staring him in the eye, waiting for him to back down. Finally, Kit lightly tossed the kernel in the air and caught it gently again, waiting for another answer from the Lone Power, who hesitated, just a little frightened now.  
  
"Okay then," Kit said simply, and pressed in two spots, making the world they stood in forever trap the Lone Power inside. But of course, he'd be out there with everyone still, but he'd be weaker. Kit smiled at Nita, who forced a smile back. Ponch got up, staring at the Lone Power, and barked in his face,  
  
(Let's go Nita and Boss! Let's leave this trash behind!) Kit agreed, as did Nita. Kit shrugged, handing the kernel to Nita, who turned it into a shiny red apple. She took a bite out of it, and tossed it behind her into the wall. Soon, the three were sliding back through darkness to their own world, their own home, leaving the Lone Power to brood over this in his cave until the end of eternity.  
  
Nita, Kit, and Ponch landed on the soft grass of Kit's backyard. Ponch landed on all fours, looking around at his home.  
  
(Treats?) He asked. Kit sighed, rolling over on his back, and muttered,  
  
"Yeah, sure. Treats." Kit pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking at Nita who just lay on the grass, glad to be home.  
  
"So- what happened? One minute, I'm searching for the kernel, the next, you're holding it." Nita asked softly. Kit stared at her for a long time, thinking about the answer. Finally, he told her.  
  
"You died. I found the kernel and went back in time to get you," Kit didn't feel like explaining more, but Nita understood. She stared at Kit, even more impressed now than before.  
  
"Thanks," was the only word she could spit out. Just then, Ponch came racing back outside with Kit's parents. Kit's mom screamed and his dad stood in utter disbelief, absorbing the scene.  
  
"Kit!" his mom cried out, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Then, she saw Nita. "Nita! You're okay! You'd better go home, your parents have been worried sick!" she gave Nita a hug too, and Nita waved at Kit, smiling at him. Ponch licked her hand before she left, and Nita turned and with a pop of air, disappeared.  
  
Dairine stared at the clock. It was late. Darkness hung around her like a thick blanket. The clock flashed a new number. 10:30. Closing her eyes, Dairine dropped herself down on her soft bed, not feeling it through her numbness. A pop of air sounded in her ears, and Dairine looked up tiredly. Her eyes met Nita's, and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't say anything; she was speechless. She just stared at Nita in delight and leapt up to hug her.  
  
"You're back!" Dairine cried into Nita's shirt. "I can't believe it! I thought you were." Dairine trailed off, and Nita said silently,  
  
'I was. But Kit saved me.' Dairine then let go and led Nita downstairs to her parents who sat in the dark.  
  
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Nita called out, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
***  
  
Nita sat alone on the moon, in the usual spot. She stared back at waning earth, splashed with blue and green. Suddenly, Kit appeared at her side, sitting down on the rock next to her. He stared back at earth too. He'd just gotten the news. It was horrible, especially considering the fact that Nita had just gotten home. She'd barely gotten a chance to say goodbye.  
  
"Everything down there seems so small compared to up here," Nita finally said monotonously, not even glancing away from Earth. "From way up here, it's hard to tell that there's even life down there. That any of it even matters." Kit gave her a pained look. "If I hadn't even come home, nothing would have changed from up here. Everything would still look the same. She still would have died." A single tear rolled down Nita's cheek.  
  
"But it does matter. Every time something like that happens, like when you lived, the whole universe is affected, whether small or large. And it did make a difference. Thanks to us, the Lone One is once again weakened." Kit tried to cheer her up, but it was no use. He gave her a sad look, and went back to staring at the earth. After several long moments of wasting air supply and sitting in eerie silence on the moon, Kit tore his eyes away from the beautiful view. He made Nita look at him, though she didn't want to.  
  
"And whatever happens, you'll still always have people who'll look out for you. Your friends and family are with you. And I'll bet she would have wanted you to feel good about your victory of the Lone Power," Kit told her. Nita's eyes finally met his.  
  
"It's a never ending battle. No one wins. No one loses. It just goes on forever. The One can't be killed and he can't win either. Just like no one can conquer death, but just wait for death to conquer them." Nita said sadly. Kit leaned forward and kissed Nita. Nita closed her eyes and waited until Kit pulled away and stood up, feeling the wonderful sensation leave her lips. She opened her eyes to see Kit get ready to go.  
  
"I'm going home. And you should too. Because staying here isn't going to make reality go away." And with that, Kit vanished into thin air. Nita waited there for several more moments, and then stood up too. He was right. No matter how long Nita wanted to put off her mother's funeral, she couldn't. She had to face it. Setting up the transit wizardry, Nita glanced back at the green and blue earth as it was engulfed by the darkness of empty space, and Nita disappeared. THE END!!!!!! 


End file.
